Report: Amazon may split HQ2 between two cities

CHRISTOPHER MILLER / NYT

The biospheres at Amazon's headquarters in downtown Seattle. More than a year after announcing a search for a city in which to place a second headquarters campus, Amazon may be entertaining the idea of placing those workers in two cities instead.

The biospheres at Amazon's headquarters in downtown Seattle. More than a year after announcing a search for a city in which to place a second headquarters campus, Amazon may be entertaining the idea of placing those workers in two cities instead. (CHRISTOPHER MILLER / NYT)

staff and wire reports

Amazon, more than a year after announcing a search for a city in which to place a second headquarters campus, may be entertaining the idea of placing those workers in two cities instead.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing a person familiar with the matter, that Amazon planned to split its second headquarters staff evenly between two places instead of picking a single site for what it calls HQ2. Amazon had said that it aims to place some 50,000 workers in its second city, and spend up to $5 billion on a new corporate campus, beginning in 2019.

Amazon is in advanced talks with multiple cities but has not made a final decision on which two locations it will pick, according to people familiar with the matter. A decision and announcement could come as soon as this week, the people said.

An Amazon spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Amazon's plans, the Journal reported, would place about 25,000 workers in each city, a move designed to give the company a greater ability to attract talented workers. Such a move could also reduce the risk that Amazon's infusion of tens of thousands of workers into a city would have disruptive effects on housing, transportation or other urban issues.

Amazon's request for proposals, made public in September 2017, left open the door that the company could entertain multiple offers, or opt to select none at all, with a disclaimer at the very end of the eight-page document that started the company's HQ2 search.

“Amazon may select one or more proposals and negotiate with the parties submitting such proposals before making an award decision,” the document reads. “Or it may select no proposals and enter into no agreement.”

On Saturday, The Washington Post reported that Amazon has held advanced discussions about the possibility of opening its highly sought-after second headquarters in the Crystal City area of Arlington, Va.. The company is so close to making its choice that Crystal City's top real estate developer, JBG Smith, has pulled some of its buildings off the leasing market and officials in the area have discussed how to make an announcement to the public this month, according to public and private-sector officials who spoke to the Post on the condition of anonymity because Amazon has asked that the selection process remain confidential.

The company reportedly is also in late-stage discussions with Dallas and New York City.

At a conference in New York on Thursday, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos told the crowd: "Ultimately the decision will be made with intuition after gathering and studying a lot of data — for a decision like that, as far as I know, the best way to make it is you collect as much data as you can, you immerse yourself in that data but then you make the decision with your heart."

After launching a reality show-like sweepstakes for a second home in late 2017, Amazon has effectively shut down disclosures about the search in the past nine months. Twenty finalist cities — many of which have spent considerable time and money pursuing the company — have little information about where they stand, according to officials in four other finalist jurisdictions. The Lehigh Valley was among the legions of cities and regions that attempted to woo the online behemoth, but ultimately only Philadelphia and Pittsburgh were selected as HQ2 finalists in Pennsylvania.

Stock market investors, online betting sites and corporate relocation experts have all declared northern Virginia the favorite to land the so-called HQ2.

Bezos and the company have made several recent announcements that could soften Amazon's public image as it moves to open H2Q.

Now the world's wealthiest person, Bezos announced in September that he would donate $2 billion of his own money to support groups battling homelessness in the United States and create a network of preschools in underserved communities.